Chart Your First Survey

Ready to navigate complexity into clarity? Get up and running with Spice Labs in under 5 minutes! This guide will walk you through the essential steps to perform your first software analysis.

Prerequisites

• A computer with internet access (Windows, macOS, or Linux)
• Docker installed and running on your system (Install Docker)
• A Spice Labs account:
  • Start your 30-day free trial, or
  • Contact our team at spicelabs.io

Step 1: Begin Your Journey

1. Start your free trial at spicelabs.io/get-started or contact our team at spicelabs.io to establish your account
2. Navigate to the dashboard at https://dashboard.spicelabs.io
3. Log in with your provided credentials
4. A sample project with sample data will be pre-configured for you

Step 2: Get Your Spice Pass

Your Spice Pass is the API token that authenticates your CLI requests:

1. In the dashboard, navigate to Settings → This Project
2. Click “Get your Spice Pass.”
3. Copy or Download the Spice Pass JWT token
4. Save it somewhere secure (you’ll need it for the CLI and API)

Step 3: Install the CLI

Choose your platform:

macOS/Linux

curl -sSLf https://install.spicelabs.io | bash

Windows PowerShell

irm -UseBasicParsing -Uri https://install.spicelabs.io | iex

The installer will:

• Download the latest Spice Labs Surveyor CLI
• Give you instructions to add it to your system PATH
• Verify the installation

Step 4: Set Your Spice Pass

Set your Spice Pass as an environment variable:

macOS/Linux

export SPICE_PASS="your-jwt-token-here"

Windows PowerShell

$env:SPICE_PASS="your-jwt-token-here"

Step 5: Run Your First Survey

Ready to see it in action? Choose your approach:

Option A: Use Our Sample Project (Recommended)

# Clone our sample project
git clone https://github.com/spice-labs-inc/sample_project.git
cd sample_project

# Run your first survey
spice --tag "sample_project"

Option B: Survey Your Own Project

# Navigate to your project directory
cd /path/to/your/project

# Chart your software landscape
spice --tag "your-project-or-module-name"

The CLI will:

1. Survey all files, revealing what lies beneath the surface
2. Analyze complex signatures and create meaningful maps of dependencies
3. Upload your encrypted results to Spice Labs

Step 6: View Results

1. Return to the Spice Labs Topographer Dashboard
2. Navigate to your project
3. Reload
4. You should see your survey results in the surveys list on Topographer’s dashboard, including:
   • Discovered packages and dependencies
   • Vulnerability information

What’s Next?

Now that you’ve completed your first survey, explore these next steps:

• CLI Installation Guide - Learn about advanced installation options
• GitHub Actions Integration - Automate surveys in your CI/CD pipeline

Common Issues

“Command not found: spice”

• Restart your terminal after installation
• Make sure the installer completed successfully
• Check that /usr/local/bin (or C:\Users\{username}\.spice-labs\bin) is in your PATH

“Authentication failed”

• Verify your SPICE_PASS environment variable is set correctly
• Check that your Spice Pass hasn’t expired in the Topographer dashboard
• Ensure there are no extra spaces in your token

“No files found to survey”

• Make sure you’re in the correct directory
• Check that your input path exists and contains files
• Verify file permissions allow the CLI to read them

Get Help

• 📖 Documentation: Browse our complete how-to guides
• 🎥 Videos: Watch our video tutorials
• 💬 Community: Join our Matrix room
• 📧 Support: Email support@spicelabs.io

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